In recent years, a number of consumers have been poisoned by ingesting capsules of well-known pain-killers which they had purchased off the shelf at retail stores. Packages containing these capsules had apparently been removed from the stores, the capsules laced with poison and the packages then returned to the shelves of the stores. Unsuspecting consumers purchased these tampered packaged products and were killed by the contaminated capsules.
These occurrences have engendered much fear throughout the country, fear caused in part by the awareness that anyone can be random victim of poisoning in this matter. This is especially true in view of the large number of products sold off the shelf and the difficulty of detecting tampered packages.
In an endeavor to protect the consumers, manufacturers have introduced tamper-resistant packaging such as triple seal packages. These packages include an interior foil seal placed over the opening of the container. They also include a plastic band which seals the lid to the container. Moreover, the containers are encased in a plastic wrapper or placed in an exterior cardboard box which is sealed with plastic film or other wrapping material.
Not only are these packaging methods relatively expensive, but they have proved ineffective. Despite the use of tamper-resistant packaging, there have been further instances of poisoning by packaged drug products.